. >>> relatives of japanese abducted by north korean agents are in the united states looking for help. they've asked a key member of congress for further cooperation in resolving the issue. members of the association of families of victims kidnapped by north korea met ileana ros-lehtinen in washington, the chairperson of the foreign affairs committee of the house of representatives. the group says it told the republican lawmaker about an american man who was allegedly kidnapped by north korea. the man went missing in china's yunnan province in 2004. ros-lehtinen reportedly expressed strong interest in the case and said she will discuss the matter in congress and with the state department. she also said she wants to tackle the abductions of japanese nationals and suggested that imposing more sanctions on north korea may be important in resolving the issue. >> translator: i want americans to see that the abduction issue matters to them as much as it does to people in japan, and that the two countries should jointly work to resolve the problem. >>> economic growth in southeast asia has l